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Create a Sun Compass
For landscape photographers its often useful to know the position of sunrise and sunset.
The Sun does not rise directly in the East and set directly in the West,
the position of sunrise and sunset changes throughout the year.
On a day-to-day basis the Sun will rise/set tomorrow in nearly the same
position as today and any differences are not readily apparent. However taken over the whole year the Sun
will rise and set over a range of approximately 70 degrees in the UK.
A Sun Compass tells you the (approximate) position of sunrise/sunset for each month.
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If you want to buy a ready-made Sun compass we recommend the
Suncard.
It's a clear plastic card that can be overlaid on a map or used like
a conventional Sun compass. At the time of writing they're available at
£3.99 in two versions for Northern Europe/Canada and Southern
Europe/USA.
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Image ©Suncard
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If you want to print your own sun compass read on...
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A Sun Compass shows rise and set positions for a given latitude. The
compass reproduced here (and downloadable at the bottom of this page)
is based on a latitude of 53°N, i.e. roughly in the centre of the UK
and by a coincidence the latitude of our office. This Sun Compass is
usable in a range of 48°N to 58°N, i.e. for the whole of the UK, and
for most of Europe, Northern Asia and Canada.
We calculate our sun positions for the 21st of each month.
Many others calculate sun positions based on the 15th of each month. Using the 21st
more accurately represents the extremes of the Sun's position, i.e. at Solstice or Equinox but
either method gives usable results.
Click here to download our Sun Compass.
Sunrise/Sunset times for Taddington
(53.23°N 1.79°W) for 21st of each month
| Month |
Rise |
Set |
| January |
07:54 |
16:15 |
| February |
07:01 |
17:13 |
| March |
05:54 |
18:07 |
| April |
04:43 |
19:01 |
| May |
03:47 |
19:53 |
| June |
03:25 |
20:28 |
| July |
03:52 |
20:06 |
| August |
04:43 |
19:08 |
| September |
05:36 |
17:55 |
| October |
06:30 |
16:45 |
| November |
07:26 |
15:51 |
| December |
08:05 |
15:36 |
Sunrise/Sunset times for London (51.5°N, 0°W) for 21st of each month
| Month |
Rise |
Set |
| January |
07:48 |
16:35
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| February |
07:02 |
17:26
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| March |
06:02 |
18:14
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| April |
04:58 |
19:01
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| May |
04:08 |
19:46
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| June |
03:31 |
20:13
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| July |
04:14 |
19:58
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| August |
04:58 |
10:08
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| September |
05:44 |
18:01
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| October |
06:31 |
16:58
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| November |
07:20 |
16:11
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| December |
07:56 |
05:00
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Sunrise/Sunset times for Glasgow (55.8°N, 4.2°W) for 21st of each month
| Month |
Rise |
Set |
| January |
07:56 |
15:53
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| February |
06:57 |
16:58
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| March |
05:44 |
17:58
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| April |
04:27 |
18:59
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| May |
03:24 |
19:57
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| June |
02:58 |
20:32
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| July |
03:28 |
20:10
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| August |
04:26 |
19:06
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| September |
05:26 |
17:46
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| October |
06:25 |
16:29
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| November |
07:28 |
15:29 |
| December |
08:11 |
15:11
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All times shown are GMT, you need to correct for British Summer Time from the end of March to the end of October. Times are calculated using Ephemeris 2.0 , a freeware utility for Windows PCs to calculate Sun/Moon rise and set times and directions from Digital Light and Color. The sun compass is drawn using
SmartDraw , a highly recommended business graphics package.
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